The Evenflo Sonus is a simple, affordable, convertible car seat that can be used rear-facing or forward-facing to protect kids up to 6 years, 50 pounds, or 50 inches tall.
It has the extensive crash testing and impact protection measures Evenflo uses with all their car seats, which exceed federal safety standards, and, like all Evenflo car seats, it is made in the USA and backed by free video chat and support for easy help with installation. It comes at a fantastic price for a car seat with all these features, but let's take a closer look.
Who is the Evenflo Sonus Most Suitable For?
The Evenflo Sonus has convertible convenience and an affordable price tag that can't be beat. We love the built-in air flow, extensive crash testing, 3-across seating, and great support from Evenflo. However, the 6-year expiration date means that this car seat may not last as long as some others.
The single rear-facing incline and lack of newborn pillow mean that it may not fit some smaller infants, and only 5 harness positions mean that it may not easily fit big and tall children at the outside of typical growth charts.
These limitations on fit may affect the longevity of the Evenflo Sonus, depending on the size of your child. However, it's so safe and affordable that, even if it doesn't fit a child for the full 6 years or 50 pounds, it may still be worth the investment. Because it can fit 3-across, it may be a great option as a backup, a shorter-lived carseat for a growing family, or a versatile carseat for caregivers and family members who don't rely in it for daily transport of a child for the full life span of the car seat.
For parents with children within the average height and weight ranges, and who need an affordable car seat that can fit in a wide range of vehicles, the Evenflo Sonus is an excellent choice. It's also a great car seat for air travel and vacations, because it is portable and easy to travel with.
Pros and Cons of Evenflo Sonus
Pros
Cons
Overview of Evenflo Sonus
The Evenflo Sonus is a very safe car seat. It has been tested by Evenflo for structural integrity at twice the federal crash test standard. It meets or exceeds all side impact standards, and has even been rollover tested, which isn't required by federal standards.
It's also comfortable and long-lasting, with built-in cup holders, a built-in ventilation system that allows air flow around the child for improved comfort, and a five-point five-position harness that can be easily adjusted from the front for a perfect fit.
It will fit children from 5 – 50 pounds, or from 19 – 50 inches, or for the 6 year expiration date of the seat. Those are a lot of great features in a convertible car seat in this price range.
Safety
What are this model’s NHTSA ratings? All car seats sold in the USA must meet or exceed strict federal safety standards, so the NHTSA does not rate car seats for safety. Instead, they offer ratings and evaluations for ease of use. According to the NHTSA, the Evenflo Sonus has earned (for the forward-facing installation):
- Side impact protection? Yes
- Energy-absorbing base? No
- Metal frame? Mo
Longevity
Ease of Use
Ease of Installation
Comfort and Quality
Expiration
Video Overview of Evenflo Sonus
Evenflo Sonus Specs
FEATURE | DESCRIPTION |
---|---|
Child weight – rear facing | 5 -40 pounds |
Rear-facing child height | 19-40 inches |
Top of the child's head should be at least 1 inch below the top of the child restraint seat back. | |
Forward-facing child weight | 22-50 pounds |
Forward facing child height | 28-50 inches |
The tops of the child’s ears should be at or below the top of child restraint seat back. | |
Car seat dimensions | 29 inches high x 19 inches wide x 19 inches deep |
Car seat weight | 11.28 pounds |
Evenflo Sonus Features
FEATURE | DESCRIPTION |
---|---|
Safety features | |
Ease of use | |
Longevity features | |
Quality and comfort features |
What is included with the Evenflo Sonus?
The Evenflo Sonus comes with a removable newborn insert pillow, and the built-in cupholders have removable and dishwasher-safe cups.
Evenflo Sonus Installation
There are several videos available online that show an overview of this car seat, but none that specifically show installation. However, Evenflo offers personalized video support that will help you install the car seat. Simply book an appointment online, and their specialists will help you install the seat with video chat.
Evenflo Sonus Manual
The English version of the Evenflo Sonus user's manual is available here:
Evenflo Sonus vs. Evenflo Tribute
The Evenflo Solus and the Evenflo Tribute are both compact, affordable, convertible car seats. They are made in the USA, both backed by the excellent reputation of Evenflo, and both come with free video support.
While the Evenflo Sonus and Tribute both have the same child weight ratings, the Tribute is a smaller convertible car seat, and has lower height ratings. The Sonus is rated for children up to 40 inches in rear-facing, and 50 inches overall. The Tribute is rated for a maximum height of 37 inches rear-facing, and only 40 inches overall. The Tribute is smaller, lighter, has fewer harness positions, no cupholders, and has a removable head pillow instead of a newborn insert pillow. It also doesn't have the air flow ventilation of the Sonus.
However, the Evenflo Tribute is not designed to be a full-time daily use convertible car seat. Evenflo designed the Tribute specifically for vacations, air travel, rental cars, and caregivers who need to frequently change installations.
At just 9 pounds, and measuring 18.5 x 22 x 25.5 inches, the Evenflo Tribute is designed to be portable and versatile, providing comfort and safety whenever and wherever you need it. The affordable price, durable and easy-to-clean materials, and light weight and streamlined shape make this a great backup car seat, travel car seat, or occasional car seat.
If you want an affordable convertible car seat for regular use for a growing child, the Evenflo Sonus is probably a better choice. With the included cup holders, five harness positions, air flow ventilation, and higher heigh range of the Sonus make it a car seat with greater comfort and longevity, and a better investment for day-to-day use.
If you want a backup or travel car seat that is lightweight and portable, easy to clean, convertible, and affordable, the Evenflo Tribute is a great choice.
Ann's Evenflo Sonus User Review
Conclusion
The Evenflo Sonus Convertible is a rear-facing and forward-facing car seat. It is lightweight and overall easy to handle. It helps that it is affordable.
You will likely need to roll a towel tightly to achieve the recline you are looking for when it comes to the Sonus Convertible car seat. When used as a booster car seat, it is narrow and compact. The lower than the average weight limit of 40 pounds is sometimes not enough to progress a child to a booster. seat The rear-facing position tends to take up more backseat room.
Evenflo Sonus (click image for more info)
The price reflects the ease of installation and use, though it is not unreasonable. The lower anchors are not as strong as many seats in the same category. The LATCH strap might twist in the belt path when you are tightening it. The rear-facing path belt is hard to reach, too.
If you are looking for a lower-priced convertible car seat, the Evenflo Sonus Convertible is a great pick. The only major issue is that if your little person is bigger than 50 pounds and 40 inches, you will need to look at another convertible seat model.
Growing up I was a carefree male going about life like there was no tomorrow. Naturally, I ‘grew’ up, settled down and started a family.
Going from an independent carefree male to a family man was somewhat of a U-turn and required a lot of learning. Luckily for me, my wife works in education and has always been the shining light always ahead of me on all factors kids related.
Initially, my wife didn’t have a driving license (luckily this has now changed and it does make life easier), and all things car related were my task. Child locks were the obvious starting point which lead me down a rabbit hole.
So far we have personally tested dozens of convertible car seats and have owned five despite neither of our kids having reached the age of 5! Simply put, a car seat can be great on paper, work great on trying out but can fail on you in real life.
This is why I have put together this website – to help inform and educate you!
Of course, as I mentioned above, at the end of the day your experience will be the best test so I’d love to hear your experiences and feedback in the comments.
To contact me personally, please do so through my contact page.
I look forward to hearing from you!
Peter
P.S. If you click a link on my site and end up buying a car seat on Amazon, I’ll get paid a small commission (or as the Amazon lawyers put it: “As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases”)
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